my favorite My all time favorite is Chinto due to the fact that my sensei made me practice this in the summer of 96' for at least 3 hours 5 days a week for about 2 months in preparation for nationals(usankf). I like Unsu, kanku/kosokun dai(I know pinan/heian differences too, big deal), I like the hand movements of Paiku a lot..the tension shown in it. Aoyagi is a good one too. I like rohai shodan through sandan because I like the crane stances in it.
well.... they're simple not my favourite katas. Seienchin was a favourite of mine, untill my shihan made me practice it a half year long, every day, minimum 3 hours per day, for international tourneys. I don't like it anymore, tho in my opinion, it's one of the most difficult katas there is (of the ****ae katas). I just like the movements in the katas I've mentioned. Much much more gracefull. But like i said, my favourite katalist changes about every month. The international kata is just like the clothinglines. They chenge everytime. (except for the ****ae katas) It's like, hmmm which kata is trendy now? Lets practice it. Atm these r the kinda trendy kata, international. My alltime favourites are Heiku and Paiku. This because they're really traditional, u can see that in it's movements. Very gracefull but powerfull too. It kinda switches, it's got it's unexpected movements. Like, u begin very gracefull, then it'll get followed up with two quick, powerfull sudan zuki's. Or when u'r heeling on the floor, jump up and make the same time a maye geri. I like it, it's not so standard. The katas u mentioned r really kinda basical katas, ****ae katas. As far as i know, every international kinda hates them hehe XxxxXxxxX
At this point, Heian Shodan is my favorite. Since I am a white belt, I have been practicing it every day for months now and as I keep improving, I like it more and more. I have done a little Heian Nidan but since I am not good at it yet, I like Heian Shodan better.
yeah Paiku is a good one I like Paiku a lot too and agree with you about the kata list changing throughout the years. I'm a hayashi ha ****o ryu nidan and i can remember a long time ago doing pinan instead of heian. My father told me when he started in the 60s they did pinan instead of heian..yeah I know the differences aren't big but I think it's kinda silly that the kata changes.
Favourite Goju Ryu kata has to be Shisochin (as you may have guessed) . From Shotokan my favourite is Bassai.
My favorite kata across all styles would have to be Unsu (sp?) - however I must admit to liking it for all the wrong reasons: <1> Won silver medal with it as a brown belt (not many browns did this lvl of kata) <2> Normally whenever I showed it to other styles, the "whoa" or "wow" at the jumping spinning kick / landing made my adrenalin pump. Other notables are: Chinto - Chito Ryu Here, my memory is fading for this one other Shotokan kata. I forget the name of it, but it had 3 hops at the end of it, involved a lot of open handed striking / blocking and punching into your own cupped hand ... did it as a group kata in the same above mentioned competition - practiced it for months and months and I don't think I have done it since. Maybe someone can remind me of the name. I believe my Sensei of the time called it a kata more geared towards women.
My favourite katas depend on how i feel, so it changes with the weather, injuries or for no good reason whatsoever. All the katas have stuff in them that we need to learn to improve, so make sure that you dont just practice a few katas (or just the same style kata) to the neglect of the rest. (Preaching to the higher level people now) That said, my all time favorite list is (in no particular order): Kanku Sho Jion Unsu Sochin Jitte Gankaku
Hey all, a bit late I know but I thought I'd add my own penny's worth in here as well! Favourite kata, for competition probably Pinan Godan - It's short so you can explode with every move you make & there are still techniques enough to give you chances to impress the judges. Failing that, Bassai is always a favourite as well. Not too many Brown belts use it to compete so it's something fresh and I just love the sequence leading up to the crescent kick! Favourite kata for normal training, well right now that has to be Niseishi as it's the latest one I've learned. Failing that though Ku Shanku's always a solid bet! Favourite kata to blow out some aggression on the invisible man after a seriously bad day? Ku Shanku all the way. No question!
I learned and forgot a kata, I think it was called Soshiho. I learned it from a Goju Sensei but I don't think it was a Goju kata. Does anyone know this kata? At the time it was my favorite, I'd love to find a way to get it back.
The three Tekki kata and Sochin (shotokan version). The Tekkis because they are all about fighting and Sochin because it represents the type of shotokan practiced by our branch (Kase-ha).
My favorite Kata are: Suparunpei Urasoe no Kun Chatanyara no Sai Tsuruken Kururunfa Hamahiga no Tonfa Maezato no Kama Seiinchin ...in fact my favorite Kata are those which I could appreciate from the heart. Gassho!
